I am a global product management and business leader who combines a unique fusion of technical acumen, creative innovation, and marketing prowess to drive growth and innovation on a global scale. 

I relocated back to Minnesota in 2020 after spending 10 years overseas leading digital transformation and innovation projects in Qatar, Turkey and Iraq.

Two decades ago, I built my first website, for the US Food and Drug Administration.

1996 - Dallas, Texas

In 1996, as a high schooler, I initiated my tech career by pioneering one of the earliest U.S. Food and Drug Administration websites for their Southwest regional office. Intrigued by my potential, a senior FDA investigator entrusted me with the mission to enhance their digital communication with local health authorities. Armed with a Compaq LTE laptop, I mastered HTML and successfully delivered the project. Post-graduation, I joined the FDA's public affairs office in Houston, diversifying my expertise to include print design for the Office of Women's Health, further broadening my impact in public health communications.

2004 - Houston, Texas

After spending over eight years at the FDA, and winning more than a dozen design awards, I moved to a web marketing agency in Houston, where I helped launch over 30 websites for various companies. In my own time, I was passionate about developing mobile web applications that explored new possibilities, like the Personal Daily Paper, an SMS service for the elderly to get a daily newspaper without using a computer. I also worked on voice-interactive projects, like Syndout, a speech-enabled publishing platform. This led to the creation of syndout.com and the innovative 'cell phone novel', The Love Books of Ovid. Overall, I launched over 15 products on the Syndout platform.

2008 - St. Paul, Minnesota

In 2008, my hobby of creating mobile web products, with over 15 launches to my name, caught the attention of a media company in Minnesota. They brought me on board to spearhead their new mobile product offerings for local TV stations, where I managed a suite of 36 mobile web portals for some of the leading media companies in the United States. My journey took a turn when I joined an internal R&D team tasked with devising fresh products for local media outlets. We launched Slantly.com in 2009, but despite our efforts, the service was discontinued after a year, leading to the dissolution of our team.

2009 - Bloomington, Minnesota

In 2009, I embraced a new challenge by joining a manufacturing company in Bloomington, Minnesota. My role was pivotal in launching their new website and streamlining the management of numerous marketing microsites. These sites catered to a diverse clientele, including homeowners, golf courses, irrigation, and landscape contractors, each with its own industry-specific demands.

2010 - Sartell, Minnesota

After successfully setting up the new website and guiding its strategic direction, I felt compelled to return to mobile technology. I joined a Minnesota-based app marketing agency in need of expertise to kickstart a new mobile product line. This venture was set to surpass their established desktop app marketing in both reach and revenue. As part of a two-person R&D team with the company's co-founder, I played a critical role in conceptualizing, developing, and launching the agency's native mobile app marketing business from the ground up. I spearheaded the launch of Apperang.com and introduced the Virtual Currency Rewards platform, marking the company's inaugural foray into native advertising.

2011 - Doha, Qatar

In 2011, I shifted back to media by joining a global media company based in Qatar. My task was to roll out their new suite of mobile apps in English, Arabic, Turkish, and Bosnian. Among these, the Listening App and the Voices Project stood out as particularly innovative, though they had different fates. The Listening App was an ambitious project that ultimately didn't reach the public, but the Voices Project took off, benefiting from a partnership with the pioneer of the modern web. It opened up new ways to engage with audiences in emerging markets like Kenya and Ghana. Additionally, I launched the network's inaugural second screen app for 'The Stream,' one of the channel's hit TV shows.

2015 - Doha, Qatar

In 2015, I partnered with two longtime friends to launch a startup that solved a very real problem we faced daily when deciding where to eat. We built a small development team, released an initial product into the market, was selected as one of the most promising startups around the world, and was incubated in Qatar.

In the same year, I also ventured out to solve a different kind of problem, engineering the perfect dress shirt for men. A new line of mens dress shirts that exude power and confidence was soft launched for an exclusive inner circle of friends. These handmade shirts adhere to a high level of detailed craftsmanship found in high end brands like Brioni and Kiton.

2016 - Istanbul, Turkey

In 2016, I was approached by a former colleague who had just moved to Turkey to lead Digital Strategy for a new English language international news channel that had all the ingredients of a small startup. I accepted the challenge and relocated with my family to Istanbul to recruit and manage the team responsible for building some of the most forward-thinking products in media. As the Head of Digital Products and R&D at Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), I led the design and development of internally-facing newsroom management platforms in English, Arabic, Russian, German and Turkish for domestic and international TV channels, as well as award-winning externally-facing consumer products across web, OTT, VR, Voice, and native mobile apps.

During this time, I was also building Eagle Falcon Handcrafted as a luxury leather goods and menswear brand. I spent a year building relationships across the entire textile and leather goods supply chain in Turkey and was able to turn hand drawn sketches and paper prototypes into classic and timeless works of art.

2017 - Warsaw, Poland

While living in Istanbul, I was recruited by MDIF to spend a week in Warsaw, Poland leading a workshop at on the topic of Product Management in Media, where I trained media executives from over 10 counties including Ukraine, Indonesia, Bolivia, Brazil, Hungary, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malaysia, and Poland to develop the necessary skills for incorporating the product management function into their digital media corporations.

2019 - Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

In 2019, I was recruited as an independent consultant to oversee and manage the entire digital strategy for an international news TV channel based in Iraq. The channel is positioned to be a global player in world news and current affairs and capable of publishing in English, Sorani, Arabic, Kurmanji, Persian and Turkish. I was part of a leadership team of broadcast and technology experts assembled from Dubai, China, Thailand, France, Germany, and Turkey to build the channel from the ground up. After spending 18 months traveling in and out of Iraq, I successfully launched the multi-language publishing platform, defined the editorial workflows, and hired and trained a team of local journalists that went on to independently manage the entire digital operations of the new channel.

2020 - Mankato, Minnesota

After collecting over 60 pages of passport stamps and visiting over 20 countries, I decided to relocate back to Minnesota in 2020 with my family. Shortly after returning to the US, I connected with David Carlson from Food Dudes Delivery and Ryan Weber from Great North Ventures to lead a new restaurant technology startup Backhouse Brands.

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